ECA Illustration dept. blog

February 16, 2017February 16, 2017

UPCOMING GRADUATES – THOMAS SHEK

Hello, my name is Thomas and I grew up in Edinburgh. I have been drawing since I was a little boy. I’m always curious how different artists design such fascinating characters in animation and picture books and also I watch a lot of cartoons.

I like to work in digital media with Photoshop and Illustrator. My process begins with sketching on paper, then I scan the drawings in and draw everything on top with the pen tool in Illustrator, then finish it in Photoshop. My style of illustration is a combination of caricature, cuteness and humour; exaggerating features is important in my illustrations because I believe it helps viewers to identify the character’s essential qualities. It is something I enjoy doing for my illustrations. I am interested in creating characters, so I study others in picture books and animation films, why they’re so successful and what adults and children like about them. So for my final project, I’m making a picture book for the Degree Show. I love words and tales to share with the world, filling up pages with cute little characters, each with their story.

The story is about this young girl that finds this lost tiger in Edinburgh and needs help and to find its way back home to its mother. They explore Edinburgh asking people and animals. This story was inspired by the “tiger who came to tea” by Judith Kerr and “lost and found” by Oliver Jeffers.